Following another tournament victory at El Rancho High School, the Cubs looked to keep their five-game winning streak alive as they faced the Calabasas Coyotes.  Jalen Cox said the key to winning the game would be containing their shooters.

Starting Lineup

PG: Jalen Cox, #3 (6’3”, Sr., PG)

SG: Jonas de Krassel, #20 (6’4”, So., G/F)

SF: Chase Toliver, #21 (6’3”, Sr., G/F)

PF: Vincent Sampson, #30 (6’1”, Sr., F/C)

C: Parker Jones, #13 (6’6”, Sr., F/C)

First Quarter

The Coyotes take the opening tip, but Cox steals it and misses a layup.  Later, Cox gets another steal and converts the layup for the Cubs’ first two points of the game.  The Coyotes are sent to the line with 6:23 to go and make both of them.  Jonas de Krassel gets a jumper to fall with 6:05 remaining.  Cox finds de Krassel for another layup at the 5:41 mark, and the score is 6-2 Cubs.  Jones blocks a Coyote shot with 5:23 to go, and Calabasas is sent to the line with 5:13 remaining.  They make one of two.  Cox gets the Cubs a second-chance opportunity and makes a layup with 4:56 to go.  Outstanding Cubs defense leads to a bad shot by the Coyotes with 10 on the shot clock and about four minutes left in the game.  Jones gets a layup with 3:24 remaining, and the Cubs lead 10-3.  A steal by Toliver leads to the Cubs retaining possession with under three minutes left, and Jones drills a triple shortly after.  A Cox swipe leads to a Jones jam to give the Cubs a 10-point lead with 1:54 remaining.  De Krassel plays phenomenal perimeter defense but is still called for a foul with 1:20 left.  The Coyotes nail all three free throws.  Both teams miss shots to end the quarter.

Score: 15-6 Loyola

Second Quarter

The Coyotes get the ball to begin the half and get a layup to fall three seconds into the quarter.  De Krassel drills a three with 7:10 remaining.  The Coyotes respond with a three of their own with 6:52 to go, and it’s a 18-11 ball game in favor of the Cubs.  The Coyotes are sent to the line again with 6:16 left, and make one of two.  A scoring drought from both squads is interrupted with two made Coyote free throws at the 5:09 mark.  Toliver finds Max Stern for a layup with 4:35 remaining.  The Coyotes sink back-to-back threes to tie the game at 20 with three minutes left.  Toliver buries a three on the other end with 2:45 remaining.  The Cubs get a second-chance opportunity off a miss, and Jones makes a layup with 2:15 to go.  The Coyotes get into the bonus at the 2:09 mark and make both free throws.  Owen Pentz gets an and-one layup with 1:54 left, but he misses the following free throw.  Cox’s two-pointer puts the Cubs up 29-22 with 1:14 remaining.  The Coyotes get a steal with 15 seconds left, but miss a three to end the half.

Score: 28-22 Loyola*

*A Loyola three-pointer was deemed a two after the fact.

Third Quarter

The Cubs get possession to start the second half, and Toliver makes a three with 7:36 remaining.  De Krassel gets a steal and layup with 7:11 to go.  The Coyotes make a three with 6:52 left, and the score is 33-25 Cubs.  An outlet pass from Cox leads to a Jones layup with 5:44 remaining.  Cox gets a bank-shot two to fall, and a Toliver steal in the backcourt leads to a Cox layup with under five minutes remaining.  The Coyotes make two free throws at the 4:44 mark, and it’s a 39-27 Cubs lead.  De Krassel sinks a floater with 4:08 to go.  Pentz gets a steal, and a chaotic sequence leads to a timeout from coach Powell with 3:46 to go.  Cox gets a steal and layup with 3:23 remaining.  De Krassel buries another three with three minutes left, and the Cubs lead 46-27.  Cox connects with Jones for another layup at the two-minute mark.  The Coyotes call timeout with 1:41 remaining after the Cubs’ 9-0 run.  Toliver blocks a three and gets a layup on the other end with 1:03 to go.  The Coyotes are fouled on a three with 46 seconds left and make two of three.  They call their final timeout with 23 seconds left.  Calabasas drains a deep three with 10 seconds to go.  Pentz gets a layup off the inbound to end the period.

Score: 52-32 Loyola

Fourth Quarter

The Coyotes get the ball to begin the final frame and make a three with 7:38 left.  Jones gets a two with 7:17 remaining and the Cubs lead 54-35.  Wagner “woke up feeling dangerous”, as they say, and almost posterized his defender with under seven minutes remaining.  The Cubs get the offensive rebound and Sampson eventually gets a layup with 6:30 remaining.  The Coyotes are fouled again with 6:24 to play and make one of two.  They get an and-one layup with 6:08 to go but miss the following free throw.  Wagner buries a three with 5:44 remaining, and de Krassel drains one as well with under five minutes remaining.  At this point, the Cubs have blown this game open with a 62-38 lead.  The Coyotes make one of two free throws with 4:45 left.  Wagner gets a two-pointer to fall with 4:31 remaining, and he comes back for more with a three-point-play at the 3:40 mark.  The Coyotes make one of two free throws with 3:03 left.  Chad Crisostomo is sent to the line with 2:45 remaining; he makes both to give the Cubs a 71-40 lead.  The Coyotes get a three-point-play with 2:25 to go.  They make two more layups, the latter off of a steal with 1:35 remaining.  Joe Longo is fouled with 1:35 to play and he makes both.  Calabasas gets another and-one layup with 1:09 remaining, but they miss both free throws.  The Coyotes get a three with 35 seconds left, and the Cubs dribble out the clock to get their tenth win of the season.

FINAL: 73-52 Loyola

Postgame

The Cubs made their mark on both ends of the floor, forcing 19 turnovers and getting a multitude of easy shots at the rim.  They also held standout Calabasas guard Gavin Murphy, who had 44 points last night, to 17 today.

After the game, Matthias Wagner said, “Our key was to not let [Gavin Murphy] touch the ball.  Anytime he came off a pick, we would double.  We really wanted to make every shot tough.  He had to work for every shot.  We knew he would score, but the points that he scored were very tough buckets.  He shot 30% from the field, [and] we completed our goal.

Cub of the Game: Jonas de Krassel

The Cub of the Game was Jonas de Krassel, who led the team with 19 points.

The Next Game

The Cubs face Santa Fe High School next Saturday, December 18th, at a time to be determined.  Stay tuned to the schedule for updates.